Tim Rogers
The Dodgers have a long history of excellent relievers. The long history of great relievers includes Ron Perranoski, Jim Brewer, Mike Marshall, Steve Howe, and Jay Howell. The last reliever that truly dominated for a long period of time was Kenley Jansen. One of the most underrated ones they ever had was a little guy in 1993 named Pedro Martinez. He had turned out OK, just too bad it was for different teams. Now the search is always there for more relievers in the future. And there might be a really big one coming. His name is Reynaldo Yean, The Monster. He is 6′ 4″ and only 19 years old.
I met Reynaldo at spring training a few weeks ago. It had been going around camp that Reynaldo was throwing really hard and was looking strong. The more I’ve read about and heard about him it sounds like he could have a bright future with the Dodgers. In fact, Fangraphs had him on their prospect list for the Dodgers.
Some Questions Answered
I reached out to Reynaldo via Instagram the other day. And he was kind enough to answer a few questions of mine. I just wanted to know a little bit about his background. He told me some things like that he started playing baseball when he was ten years old. He started out as a third baseman. His favorite player growing up was Miguel Sano, who used to play with the Twins.
Last season he pitched most of the season in the Dominican Summer League. Before the end of the season, he has promoted to the Arizona Cactus League. Reynaldo said that it was his first time in the United States. He is enjoying his first full Spring Training in the United States. When he’s not at the Spring Training complex he talks to his mother and friends a lot and watches movies.
Pitching-wise, I asked him how hard he throws and he says he throws 101 miles an hour. He also throws a slider and a changeup. He’s working on commanding the strike zone.
Here is a quick breakdown from Ramon Troncoso, the pitching coach with the Quakes:
Yean possess a powerful fastball over 100 MPH. He can be one of the most powerful relievers in the game.
Great competitor, is willing to learn and do anything that can make him better, doesn’t believe in short path and always wants to do everything right.
He’s just the type of players that you wants to have in your team because he’s also a great teammate.
Summary
To see the YouTube video on Reynaldo Yean use this link right here.
I want to thank Reynaldo for taking the time to answer some questions and for the translators on staff for taking care of the translation. I do expect Reynaldo to be up at Rancho Cucamonga. Quakes at some point during the season. He seems to have a bright future and may continue as in the great tradition of great relievers the Dodgers have had. So be on the lookout and we will keep you all updated on his progress.
Thank you for reading.
